


sweetness

by nocturneatmidnight



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, chocolate-making, happy valentines, implied reikao perhaps, they're sappy because i can, tickles??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturneatmidnight/pseuds/nocturneatmidnight
Summary: “You’re really sweet, you know that?”Ritsu stared. He looked caught off-guard, if only for a moment, lips slightly agape and something in his eyes uncharacteristicallyawakeat the confession and-“Maa-kun.”Ritsu swatted at Mao’s shoulder, a small smile gracing his lips as his cheeks pinked for reasons that definitely weren’t related to the warm horizon outside in any way. “Shut up. You’re sweeter.”
Relationships: Isara Mao/Sakuma Ritsu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	sweetness

**Author's Note:**

> it’s already valentines in my timezone so!!!! have this valentines themed fluff. mao canonly tickles people hell yeah (orihime and hikoboshi)
> 
> also MAO’S FEATURE SCOUT 4* NO i love it sm happyele why. that mf candy cowboy had better come home in one pull @ happyele and enstars take this fic as my prayer and give me mao. mao

“Maa-kun, say  _ aaaah.” _

Mao rolled his eyes, but opened his mouth to accept the piece of chocolate anyway. His lips narrowly avoided brushing over Ritsu’s fingers as Ritsu pulled them back, a smug smile on the latter’s face as sweet, gooey goodness melted over Mao’s tongue.  _ Delicious. _

“You’ll be using these to make the chocolates, then?” Mao asked once he’d chewed and swallowed, well aware that his cheeks were warm from Ritsu’s grossly affectionate actions and electing to completely ignore the fact. Ritsu hummed in response, seemingly preoccupied with licking chocolate off his fingers. (He  _ knew  _ Mao was watching, there was no way he didn’t.)

“Some of it, yeah,” Ritsu replied, once he’d finished making Mao want to grab him by the arm and drag him forwards to put those lips to better use. “I want to have a bunch of different bases and fillings. And toppings.”

_ “Please _ run your decoration ideas by me before actually implementing them,” Mao groaned, setting a saucepan down on the stove. The two of them were having the run of the Sakumas’ kitchen to make Valentines chocolates, which meant that Ritsu was both at home base and completely in his element. They’d prepared all the necessary ingredients and confectionery add-ons beforehand (at Mao’s request), marble countertops home to countless types of creams, jams, sprinkles and the like. Anything that looked like it could be used for Ritsu’s usual grotesquely presented desserts was well out of sight, but Mao wasn’t one to take chances.

He picked up their bowl of chopped-up chocolate and poured its contents into the pan, before flicking the fire on and reaching for a spatula. Ritsu leaned over his shoulder, taking advantage of the distraction to sneak a bit of chocolate into his own mouth.

_ “Ritsu,” _ Mao scolded, batting his boyfriend’s hand away as it tried for another. “The pan’s hot.”

“Which is why you should let me eat the chocolate before it gets even hotter,” Ritsu said with wide, innocent eyes and a choice pout. “I won’t be able to stick my hand in like that in a while, you know. And all the chocolate’ll have melted.”

“Melting the chocolate is the whole  _ point,” _ Mao muttered, giving Ritsu a light nudge to detach the older from where he was pressed up against Mao’s back. Ritsu gave a soft whine in complaint but let Mao do as he pleased, retreating to lean back against the kitchen island and watch Mao work. “We’re not going to get anywhere if you eat it all.”

Mao picked up another bag of chocolate- this one dark rather than milk- and turned to Ritsu. “Do you think we can manage making two types of chocolate at once?”

Ritsu raised his eyebrows, an amused, languid smile dimpling his cheeks. “You know I can manage anything as long as you’re by my side, Maa-kun.” He said it casually, comfortably, like uttering something that colossally  _ sappy  _ was no big deal to him- which it probably wasn’t, given that Ritsu said that kind of stuff all the time.

Mao, on the other hand, was probably blushing redder than his hair. “You could’ve just said yes,” he grumbled, turning decisively away and trying to keep his lips from curving upwards. Ritsu laughed, and,  _ oh, _ Mao wasn’t even looking at him, but he found himself rapidly losing control of his ability not to smile, anyways.  _ “Ritchan.” _

A hand tugged at Mao’s, and Mao grudgingly moved in the direction it prompted, bringing him face-to-face with a cheeky grin and a pair of bright scarlet eyes.  _ Ah, he’s gorgeous like this. _ “Saying it the normal way wouldn’t be fun at all, would it?”

“Not for you, I suppose,” Mao sighed. He ran a hand through his hair- some of it had slipped out of its clip, decorating the edges of his vision with familiar strands- and then Ritsu was leaning in and undoing the clip, smoothening and neatening the rebellious locks before clipping them back in place. The look on Ritsu’s face was fond and vaguely satisfied, the way it always was when he helped Mao with something or other, and Mao’s heart threatened to burst with warmth at the sight.

Ritsu must have noticed him staring (in the most lovesick manner possible), because he pulled away, winking. “Dessert comes after we finish the chocolate, not before.”

_ What’s that even supposed to mean? _ “Shut up,” Mao muttered, feeling heat rush to his cheeks again because of  _ course  _ he already knew. And Ritsu knew that Mao knew, which was…

“Right, right. This chocolate’s all done,” Ritsu drawled, switching the stove off and bringing the saucepan of now-liquid milk chocolate over to the kitchen island. He set the hot apparatus down on the surface and plucked a small ladle from their array of sweet-making utensils. “I’m going to start moulding and filling. Get that dark chocolate melted for me?”

“At your command, Ritchan,” Mao said, because he really was, especially when in Ritsu’s kitchen. He got to work chopping up the chocolate into smaller, bite-sized pieces across the countertop from Ritsu, unintentionally pausing every so often to watch the dark haired boy execute his own tasks. Ritsu didn’t look up even once, seemingly a hundred percent focused with pouring chocolate into moulds. Once a set of them had been filled, he stepped away to put the tray in the freezer before returning to the counter to continue.

Ritsu worked carefully and efficiently, yet bore a sort of grace in his movements that Mao could only scarcely hope to match. If Mao found his chocolate being chopped up into slightly irregular shapes and sizes due to his distractedness, then- well, that was no one’s business but his own.

By the time Mao had gotten the dark chocolate on the stove in a new saucepan, Ritsu was already retrieving frozen chocolate shells from the freezer and beginning to fill them with sweetness of all colours and consistencies- pastel reds and translucent goo, sprinkle-dabbled cream and all kinds of things Mao didn’t have proper names for. Ritsu tasted his creations as he went, swiping jam off spatulas and licking jelly off his fingers, looking contemplatively at the bowls of stuff he’d concocted with a furrow to his brows, and all these actions looked so agonisingly  _ cute  _ Mao wanted to disrupt Ritsu’s concentration by leaning in and kissing that frown off his lips. He refrained from doing so, however- he needed to have  _ some  _ level of self-control, and he was pretty sure the dark chocolate was already done melting.

Somewhat questionable thoughts aside, the two of them worked seamlessly together, angling their bodies just right so they didn’t bump into each other in this shared kitchen- yet also in ways that allowed them to sneak kisses here and there, and brush shoulders where it was comfortable. Ritsu was in no way a messy confectioneer, but at times, Mao still caught smears of frosting upon his cheeks and at the corners of his mouth, prompting Mao to clean them up with either his fingers or his lips. (Whether or not all of this was a deliberate ploy on Ritsu’s part, Mao wasn’t complaining.)

It was dusk by the time they finished their very last batch, all the sweet treats appropriately dipped and decorated before being arranged in the fridge. They’d split them all up into separate boxes for different people later.

“So, you made chocolate for Trickstar, the student council...” Ritsu ticked them off on his fingers. The pair of them were side by side, now, backs against the kitchen island with their hands clasped together in between them, arms lightly swinging back and forth, back and forth. “What about me?”

Mao rolled his eyes. “As if I’d make that chocolate with you around,” he said, lifting their intertwined fingers to press a brief kiss to Ritsu’s knuckles before letting their hands fall once more. “I’ll get yours done at home.”

Ritsu pouted, leaning his head on Mao’s shoulder. “My home is your home too, you know.”

How Ritsu could be so hopelessly endearing and sappy at will, all without a trace of pink in his cheeks, Mao would never be able to fathom. “I know,” Mao said gently, reaching over to tuck a lock of hair behind Ritsu’s ear. “But that doesn’t mean I need you in the kitchen to witness my train wreck of a chocolate-making attempt.”

“I don’t mind what it tastes like- the most important thing is your love for me, Maa-kun.” There was a hint of mischief in his tone, but overall Ritsu spoke softly, sweetly, every bit the guileless boy people sometimes believed him to be at first glance. He looked up at Mao with obvious tenderness in his gaze, and Mao was suddenly acutely aware of the speed of his own heartbeat.

“Idiot- are you saying my chocolate tastes bad,” Mao muttered, more of a statement than a question, more of a rhetoric that allowed him to turn away and hide the flush in his cheeks than anything else. Ritsu laughed, and all Mao felt was fondness for this entrancing teenager before him, and he  _ really  _ wanted to pull him in for a kiss, but...

“Take that  _ back,” _ Mao commanded, unable to keep the smile off his face as he lunged forwards to cage Ritsu in his arms, hands sneaking down to his sides. Deftly pushing Ritsu’s shirt up, the slightest brush of fingers over skin made Ritsu shriek in laughter, instinctively jumping away even as Mao kept him trapped against the countertop. “I’ll tickle you until you do, come on-”

“Maa-kun,  _ no,” _ Ritsu got out, his next attempts at speaking dissolving into giggles and another shout of laughter as Mao dug his fingers into his sides. He tried to bat Mao away, but Mao dodged the poorly-timed and underpowered hits easily before going in for another round. “Maa-kun, hey- Maa-kun,  _ Maa-kun-” _

“I’m not hearing any disclaimers,” Mao grinned, pressing up against Ritsu with his hands poised less than a centimetre away for another attack. Ritsu yelped, body still shaky with huffs and giggles, a wide smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes from the lamps that hung overhead.

“I-” Ritsu gasped for breath, smacking Mao’s hands away and attempting to right himself. Mao settled his grip onto Ritsu’s waist, earning himself an instinctive flinch at the sensitivity and a half-hearted glare from Ritsu that did nothing to cover up the redness in his cheeks and the quirk of his lips. “I’m- sorry. Your chocolates are amazing. Delicious. The best in the world. I’ll never slander them again.”

“Sure you won’t,” Mao deadpanned, and Ritsu gave a soft  _ heh  _ in response. Mao smiled, though, relaxing his hold on Ritsu and lightly brushing his thumbs over the juts of his hips instead. “These okay? I didn’t hurt you, or anything?” The edge of the marble countertop was hard and bruise-inducing when knocked into with enough force, and Mao wasn’t sure how rough he’d been when keeping Ritsu pinned against it.

Mao’s worry seemed to be unfounded, however, as Ritsu’s lips curved upwards. “Like that’d be able to hurt me,” he murmured, leaning in to catch Mao in a kiss. Ritsu tasted like chocolate, and a hint of the glaze they’d drizzled over some of the homemade treats.  _ Sweet. He’s so sweet. _

Well, not all the time, but that was a given. If Ritsu suddenly started being unrelentingly sweet to Mao, Mao would be a fool not to be suspicious.

“I just...” Mao sighed, pulling back slightly to admire Ritsu’s delicate features under the light of the blood orange sun that streamed in through the windows. “I want the chocolate to be good, okay? Yours is the most important one. And I don’t want you seeing how many times I mess up before I get a proper final product.”

Ritsu gave a soft hum. “I think you’re underestimating your own chocolate-making skills, you know. You did pretty well today.” He stood a little taller on tiptoes and pressed his lips briefly to Mao’s forehead, and Mao felt his heart melt like a certain molten treat. “I get it, though. So it’s fine. And don’t worry, I’m making something special for you, too.”

Mao blinked, eyes widening near-immediately as he pulled back. “You-  _ what?” _

“I said-”

“No, I heard what you said, I just-” Mao groaned, letting his head fall forwards into the junction of Ritsu’s neck and shoulder. Ritsu’s hands came up to stroke Mao’s hair almost absent-mindedly, like the action was instinctive. “You tell me that and ask me not to _ worry? _ Seriously, Ritsu.” Something special from Ritsu, especially in confectionery form, was likely to be insurmountable in terms of taste and technique. Mao would never be able to compete with that, given his utterly basic chocolate-making skills, so how on earth was he supposed to-

“Stop it.” Mao was jolted from his thoughts by a finger poking at his cheek, and greeted by an adorable pout on Ritsu’s lips upon lifting his head. Ritsu furrowed his brow at him as he continued speaking. “It’s just chocolate, okay? You don’t have to match me dessert for dessert. I’m doing this because I want to, not because I expect something in return.”

_ Ah. _ Ritsu really, really was…

“You’re really sweet, you know that?”

Ritsu stared. He looked caught off-guard, if only for a moment, lips slightly agape and something in his eyes uncharacteristically  _ awake  _ at the confession and-

_ “Maa-kun.” _ Ritsu swatted at Mao’s shoulder, a small smile gracing his lips as his cheeks pinked for reasons that definitely weren’t related to the warm horizon outside in any way. “Shut up. You’re sweeter.”

“I don’t think so.” Mao snuck a kiss on Ritsu’s nose, and Ritsu gave him a light shove. Mao shoved him back, and then they were play-fighting back and forth, prodding and laughing and trying to make each other surrender first. It ended in Mao’s loss, his body trapped between Ritsu’s and the countertop in a role-reversal of positions, and Mao huffed a laugh at Ritsu’s smug smile.  _ I love you, I love you. _ “What are we, five?”

“If you’re trying to make me do math, it’s not going to work, Maa-kun.” Did that even make  _ sense? _ Well, whatever. Mao rolled his eyes and brought their lips together, and after they pulled apart for air he did it again, and again, and again. Ritsu’s hands reached up to cup Mao’s cheeks, radiating a comfortable warmth as they kept him firmly in place to kiss him harder. A fang grazed over Mao’s bottom lip without warning, and Mao jolted slightly, a soft sound of surprise escaping his throat at the suddenness- was it because the sun had already retired, that Ritsu was so spirited?

Not that it mattered. Mao’s arms found Ritsu’s shoulders and he tugged him closer, enough so that their bodies were hardly an inch apart. Something about Ritsu was wholly intoxicating, fogging over Mao’s more responsible thoughts which went  _ it’s getting late _ and  _ we should stop. _ He curled his fingers into Ritsu’s soft hair instead, stroking and tugging and getting closer, closer. They might have stayed in the kitchen simply trading touches and kisses the entire night were it not for the click of a door opening, making Ritsu freeze in his movements and clearing the blissful haze Mao’s mind had found itself in.

Ritsu’s expression went from one of satisfaction and contentment to one that promised fratricide. He pulled away from Mao just the slightest bit to turn his head and glance in the direction of the house’s front door. Mao sighed internally, resigning himself to the fate of listening to a pair of Sakumas bicker for a good five to ten minutes upon Rei’s inevitable entry into the kitchen-

_ Wait. _

Instead of one set of footsteps entering the house, there were two, and Rei’s soft, low tones mingled with someone else’s. The latter’s voice was familiar, actually- someone Mao had heard countless times, maybe usually in accordance with Rei’s-

Mao felt his eyes widen just as Ritsu raised an amused eyebrow. They’d both come to the same conclusion at once, it seemed.

“Hakaze-senpai,” Mao said, feeling vaguely stunned, just as Ritsu muttered, “Blond guy from his unit.” The newcomers’ hushed voices gradually faded away as their owners retreated upstairs, and…

“I should probably go.” Mao wasn’t sure why he felt like he was intruding, given that he and Ritsu probably got up to more or less the same things as their seniors when opportunities arose, but it felt… strange, he supposed, knowing who exactly was upstairs with Rei on Valentine’s eve. _ Rei.  _ Whom Mao had grown up with alongside Ritsu. Whom he knew well enough, and was (sort of) comfortable around, but…

“Weird.” Ritsu made a face, scrunching up his nose and sticking his tongue out at nothing in particular. Mao huffed a laugh- that single phrase summed it up, really. “You don’t have to leave, though? You spend more time here than Kaoru-san does, so technically, you’re the guest with the most dominance in this house.”

“That’s- I need to go home and make your chocolate, Ritchan,” Mao said, a smile turning the corners of his lips upwards. “I’ll stay over tomorrow night, okay? And I’ll be seeing you first thing in the morning to get you to school, anyway, so...”

Ritsu pouted. “You’d better. It’s going to be Valentine's day, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mao gave Ritsu a gentle nudge, and Ritsu stepped backwards, freeing Mao from his confines between his boyfriend and the countertop. “Don’t sleep too late, alright? And remember to have dinner first. Well, I’ll text you once I get home, but-”

“I’ll be _ fine, _ Maa-kun,” Ritsu interrupted, leaning in to kiss any reply Mao might have formulated right off his lips. “Go home. I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning.” Then there was a playful grin, as Ritsu added, “Asleep, of course.”

“Like I didn’t know that already,” Mao muttered, smiling back and kissing Ritsu again. Ritsu gave a soft hum, reaching up and running a thumb over the line of Mao’s jaw-

_ Nope, nope. _ Mao quickly pulled away before anything could further escalate, cheeks warm and heart beating with nothing but adoration for the faux-grumpy look his boyfriend was showing him. “I need to  _ go, _ Ritsu. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? And text you later. Before I go to bed, and all that.”

“Mm. I’ll walk you to the door,” Ritsu said, and then he was taking Mao’s hand in his and tugging him out of the kitchen. Their shoulders brushed as they walked down the quiet hallways of the Sakuma household, ones that might have felt eerie were it not for Ritsu’s steady presence by Mao’s side. Their bodies instinctively gravitated towards one another even when already in different motions, and by the time they made it to the front door Mao was missing Ritsu already, a longing fragment of his heart telling him to  _ stay. _

But Mao had things to do, and chocolate to make. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said for the hundredth time, and Ritsu smiled, sending a bolt of warmth straight through Mao’s chest. The night sky was completely dark save a few bubbles of light from lamp posts speckled here and there, and under the artificial shine, from this angle, Ritsu almost looked like he was glowing. Ethereal, indeed.

“I know. Goodnight,” Ritsu replied, even though they’d still be texting and talking over their phones for the next few hours before bed. None of that mattered- what mattered was the fact that they had to say goodbye  _ now, _ had to say goodnight _ now,  _ before they reunited minutes later despite being in separate locations.  _ Just a few more minutes... _

But Mao had to leave, first. “Goodnight, Ritchan.” He pressed his lips to Ritsu’s cheek in a goodbye kiss before quickly pulling away, not wanting to get re-engaged with Ritsu now that they’d finally made it to the door and their goodbyes. “Tomorrow, I’ll gift you the best chocolate you’ve ever eaten, okay?”

Ritsu’s smile widened, dimpling his cheeks in a way that made Mao want to kiss him again. He didn’t, however, exhibiting a level of physical restraint he didn’t even know he had. “I’m counting on it, Maa-kun. Now go, before I change my mind and take you back inside to have you all to myself tonight.” Another pout, another deep-rooted urge to kiss him. “I really want to, you know.”

“I know.” Maybe Ritsu was showing quite a bit of self-restraint, himself. “Tomorrow?”

Ritsu leaned up to kiss Mao’s forehead before nudging him away, in the direction of the doorsteps. The smile on his lips was sweet, sweet, sweet. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> bonus points if you caught where i slipped ritsu’s in-game valentines campaign lines in


End file.
